Opinions – 3/6/14: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Constitutional Law Freedom of speech BOTTOM LINE: North Carolina statute inviting citizens to “make a statement” and “promote themselves and/or their causes” with specialty license plates but limited invitation to only those citizens who agreed with North Carolina’s “Choose Life” stance violated First Amendment prohibition against any law abridging freedom of speech because statute[...]
Jack L.B. Gohn: Our metadata, ourselves
Sen. John McCain recently expressed surprise that young people see Edward Snowden as a hero. It’s surprising he’s surprised. When, thanks almost exclusively to Snowden, we have learned of the existence of huge government programs that impinge drastically upon everyone’s privacy (in their Internet communications, their telephone calls, their mail and their own computers), and we see the price[...]
Opinions – 2/14/13: Maryland Court of Special Appeals
Civil Procedure Default judgment BOTTOM LINE: The circuit court abused its discretion in entering a default judgment in favor of appellee as a sanction for an alleged violation of a scheduling order by appellant’s insurer. CASE: Station Maintenance Solutions, Inc. v. Two Farms, Inc., No. 2039, Sept. Term, 2011 (filed Jan. 24, 2013) (Judges Meredith, […]
Opinions – 2/7/13: Maryland Court of Special Appeals
Civil Procedure Default judgment BOTTOM LINE: Plaintiffs were entitled to a default judgment and damages against defendant where the notice of default was mailed to defendant’s “last known address,” as required by Rule 2-613(f), and where defendant had actual notice of the order of default and the hearing on damages and neither moved to vacate […]
Opinions – 1/10/13: Maryland Court of Special Appeals
Civil Procedure Statute of limitations BOTTOM LINE: Plaintiffs’ lawsuit against insurer was barred by the statute of limitations because they failed to file it in Maryland within three years after their cause of action accrued; filing the suit in Pennsylvania to take advantage of that state’s Bad Faith Statute did not toll the running of […]
A note to Daily Record readers
Recently, subscribers have told us they want targeted, accurate and essential news they can access immediately, however they choose. Effective today, we are adding online access at no immediate additional cost to existing print-only subscriptions. In addition, the news, features, commentary and legal decisions that we used to hold for Monday’s Maryland Lawyer section will now run throughout the [...]
Top court affirms $40M verdict
Defendants alleged to have acted in bad faith in a failed Montgomery County development deal waived the attorney-client privilege when they cited private conversations with their lawyer as part of their defense, Maryland’s highest court held on Tuesday.
Awards and announcements roundup
Several local lawyers are receiving high honors these days.
Maryland native runs animal law practice
For Maryland native Jennifer Reba Edwards, the practice of law has gone to the dogs. Literally. ...
How to maximize your appeal
The adage that a legal case is only as strong as the lawyer arguing it is never more profound than when the case is before the state’s top court. The 30 minutes that a Maryland lawyer gets to argue before the Court of Appeals can mean success or failure for the client — and for […]
Lawyer indefinitely suspended by Court of Appeals
Maryland’s top court has indefinitely suspended an attorney for failure to properly manage his trust account and for improperly handling clients’ cases. Roland N. Patterson Jr. can apply for readmission in six months. Patterson was found to have overdrawn his Interest on Lawyer Trust Account and failed to create a record for it. He also […]